Electric shoe polishing machine with reciprocating polishing belt



Feb. 28, 1950 G. T. FIE'LDING 1 2,493,947

ELECTRIC SHOE POLIS ING MACHINE WITH RECIPROCATING POLISHING BELT Filed Aug. 22, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 11 n-1;@fi=; /Z

INVENTOR W if f 207 Z/ ZJ JJ wwram I ATTORNEY Feb. 28, 1950 G. T. FIELDING 2,493,947

I ELECTRIC SHOE POLISHING MACHINE WITH RECIPROCATING POLISHING BELT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 22. 1945 ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 28 1950 UNITED STATES- CTIIQ QLS E QLIISHINGM G IEY RECIPROCATING POLISHING BEL-'1 George '1 Fielding, Stamford QCOnn. A iitafionnugust 22,1945; Serial'No; 6i1,954=- This invention relates to 'a' shoepolish-ingrma While machines'of this class have-been chine.- u known to the art for'many'yea'rs', there hasnev'er beencontributed'a simme, snrialL inexpensive and compact mechanism that is adapted for effective trouble free-operation; My invention cohtributs a machine of this class that" will yield results long sought in thisart;

One feature of my machine resides in the" utilization of a drive assembly or actuating mechanism that is'adapted for movement by the; shoe that isapplied toth'e polishing cloth of the The pressure of the'shoe against the polishing cloth may' thus be e'a'sily controlled by machine.

the person whose shoe is-being' polished,- it be in'g' preferred that the drive assembly move against the resistanceof a spring as well as": gravity. As a iurther' feature of this-part'of the invention the drive assembly is preferably piv-* oted, andis moved-about its' pivot'hy' the pr es sure of the shoe against'the' polishing cloth that is actuated by the" drive assembly.

As a further feature of the invention;- tha polishing cloth is actuatedby eccentricmeans secur'edto the ends of the'cloth; Preferablmtthe" ends of the cloth are secured to eccentric means rotating about the same axis, and with the" ends of the cloth" preferably secured te the eccentric means substantially 180 anart --relativel-y 1 to I the axis of rotation. Through:this arrangementg the cloth is" reciprocated and movedlongitudinally relatively to "the axis-" f retationof: the e'ccentric' This imparts a cuss-cross action to-the cloth as well as a reciprocation thereof, and con means,

tributes an extfeiriely'desirablepolish;

A f'urthe'r feature of the? invention" resides in the utilization of disks" for reciprocating the" polishing- 01cm, the: disks being mountedfor: ro tation about oneaxis withithe ends of the polish ing' cloth secured thereto as generally set forth above'. The disks serve to protect the cloth against abrasionand against destruction such aswould be probable with another type of op erating means;

As a further feature oi the" invention; the;

polishingacloth is held in a" tight relatively to the mach-ine for the insertion of a shoe into p'olishing' relation thereto; still afurther :eature of this part of the invention, the-polish 11g cloth is held=in an invertedbight relatively ;o the top? of a casingjwith the ends of the cloth- )assing through slots inthe casing for actuation 1 means in the casing.

A further 'ieature of the invention resides in s Clairnsi- (Cl. 15-97) whiciithe shoe to be olislie'd" is" placed} the-- movement of the" shoe support, 61 feet treadle as it may" be called} acting automaticauy to" start the operation ofthemotor of" the'niahihel Other fezzttiifs of the invention reside irithe means" securing: the polish g cldthso th-at-it'-- maybereadily'replace'able in the utilization of" va'cuum cups to support the casing}- and partic'iz' x la'r structural details was described *hei einafterw I have" thus outlined rather broadly themore important features stray invention in order tli'at the detailed description thereof that mnowsmay be better understood; and in order" that mycoiitribution to the artmay' be" better a 'a'prec'iatedt- There are; of course", additional features of my" invention that-will be described hereinafter an which will form the" subject or the claims ar pende'd heretd Those skilled in'th'e art will-at preciate' that the conception on which mydis closure is based may'readily beutilized by those skilled in the art as abasisfor the designing' ofother" structures forcarrying' out the several; purposes of my invention. It is important, there fore, that the claims tobe granted me=shall b of su'fiicient breadth to prevent the appropriate; tion* of my invention by those skilled' irithe arts.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1-;-is

a-l perspective View of "the machine' of my invention?! Fig; 2' is avertical view l'jf-tl-i'e machine Withi the sideof the casing removed 'to'illustr-ate the parts? thereof. Fig; 3 is an'enl'ar'ged View 01': thesecur i ing' means for one en dof' the polishing cloth;- illustrating. the 'operatibn. thereof: Fig. 41s a section along 3thelines 4 -'+4 of-FigtZi q.

" Referring now more particularly to the"-draw-" ings', reference'numeral- [0- indicates a' casing relatively to which my -inventionm'ay be 8,550? .ciate'd; This" casing may be manufacturedin any suitable way; and its niethod 'of construe? m" tion' is not:arrimportant=feature 'andwill; thereert fore, not'b wde'scrib'ed in detail here. Theupper': surface of the bdx iike ca'sin'g' I0 is formed Withe= a pair of slots H extending vertically downwardly in-td the casingi A -polishirlgcloth l-2"is 45;; adapted to be held so as to forni' an inverted": bightat its center, andawith portionsof-the cloth-1 extendingthrough the-"-sl'ot's H inte the like'c'asing i0: Forihdlding 'the polishingncloth in an inverted'b-ight;there-is secured to the;

sa in ;mastandare I3: A-pairof springsl't are? secured at t5.to"tlie standard 13 and extend: downward-1y tdvvard the cloth; -being-= secured tn: thenolishi ng iclotlr l2 by means of rings litand: cloth" loops 1 H stitched to the" polishing cloth" as;

;heutilization- 0f a yielding shoe su-pport orrfifi' atlB. lt isj' 'ofcourse obvious that the polishing-v 3 cloth I2 will be held yieldingly in its inverted bight, and that it will be possible to move the cloth at will against the resistance of the relatively light springs I4.

To the bottom of casing I9 there is secured one leaf H! of a hinge 29, the other leaf 2| being secured to a mounting plate 22 whereby the said mounting plate may pivot relatively to the casing I9. A pair of springs 23 rest between the mounting plate 22 and the bottom 24 of the casing for cushioning the plate, the springs being housed in shallow depressions 25 of the said bottom 24. A spring 26 is mounted about a headed pin 21 that is in guide relation to th plate 22, extending through a bore 22a in the said plate. Spring 26 presses against mounting plate 22 and tends to urge it to its position of Fig. 2, the mounting plate 22 being movable against the pressure of spring 26 and about its hinge 29 as will hereinafter be set forth. Pin 21 is preferably secured to the bottom 24 of casing I9 by threading it into the position illustrated best in Fig. 2.

Secured to the mounting plate 22 is the standard 28 of a drive assembly comprising an electric motor 29 and a reduction gear housing 39 within which there is contained the usual reduction gears operated by the motor 29 for rotating an actuating shaft 3|. It will be appreciated that the motor 29 together with gear housing 39 and shaft 3| will be rotatable as a unit with standard 28 on mounting plate 22 and about the pivot of hinge 29.

Secured to the shaft 3| are a pair of disks 32, there being one disk for each end of the shaft. To each disk 32 there is secured a cloth fastener 33, the construction of which is best illustrated in Fig. 3. Each cloth fastener 33 is pivotally and rotatably assembled to one of the disks by a screw 34 extending into a threaded bore of the disk, and is kept spaced from its disk by a washer 35. Each end of the polishing cloth I2 is formed with a loop 36 as best seen in Fig. 3 whereby to slip over an arm 31 that is formed as a part of each cloth fastener 33. Because of the nature of its construction, each arm 31 may be moved to open a space 38 for the ready removal or insertion of the loops 36 of polishing cloth I2. A retainer loop 39 is pivoted at 49 to each of the fasteners 33, and is adapted to move from the position of Fig. 3 into the position of Fig. 2 for holding the arm 31 in position to close the opening 39, and thereby maintain the polishing cloth I2 assembled to the cloth fastener 33. It, undoubtedly, is quite apparent at this time that the polishing cloth may readily be secured to the fasteners 33 and the disks 32, and readily removed for cleaning or renewal as the case may be.

It should be emphasized here that the disks 32 serve to actuate the polishing cloth as would mere eccentric arms, but the disks protect the polishing cloth so that it is not subjected to the same hazards as when actuated by arms, cranks, or the like.

For controlling the rotation of the electric motor 29 I utilized a push switch designated generally by reference numeral 45 and comprising a stationary contact 46 and a movable button 41.

The button 41 is adapted for depression by a foot treadle 48 against the pressure of a spring 49. The spring 49normally maintains the foot treadle 48 in its position of Fig. 2, with a screw 59 serving as a limit member. The treadle 48 is secured by a pair of screws to the upper surface of the box-like casing I9, and has sufiicient resiliency to flex from the position of Fig.

2 downwardly against the surface 52 of the casing I9 so as to move the push button 41 into contact relation to stationary contact 46. This, of course, excites the motor 29.

It will be interesting to note that the two cloth fasteners 33 are positioned substantially 180 apart relatively to the axis of actuating shaft 3|. In this way, the ends of the cloth will not only be reciprocated a distance equal substantially to the diameter of each disk 32, but will be moved longitudinally a similar distance. This means that the polishing cloth will have not only a reciprocating action but also a criss-cross action so as to impart excellent polish to a shoe. It will further be appreciated that the springs I4 will at all times maintain the polishing cloth l2 to form an inverted bight for a shoe that is applied to the treadle 48. In this way, a firm and positive movement may be imparted to the cloth I2, while allowing for the formation of the bight for the entry of a shoe. It will also be appreciated that the mere application of the shoe to the bight will effect a depression of treadle 48 so as to begin the operation of the motor 29.

For further protecting the cloth, the operating parts of the machine may be shielded by a sheet metal member 54 best seen in Fig. 4, but shown in outline in Fig. 2.

Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that in order to apply more pressure between the shoe and the polishing cloth, it will be necessary only to apply more pressure by the shoe against the cloth so as to rotate the drive assembly about hinge 29 against the resistance of spring 26.

For securely maintaining the casing of my invention against vibration relatively to the floor, I prefer to equip the casing with a series of vacuum cups 55, these vacuum cups functioning to hold the casing firmly in operating position, the pressure of the foot and any vibration of the machine acting to increase the effectiveness of the vacuum cups.

I believe that the object of my invention and v the operation thereof should be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I now claim:

1. In a combination of the class described, a box-like casing, a foot treadle mounted on the top of said box-like casing and adapted for slight depression relatively to said casing as by a foot applied thereto, a polishing cloth, resilient means extending between said casing and cloth for yieldingly, holding the cloth in an inverted bight over said foot treadle with the ends of the cloth entering the box-like casing through slots formed in said casing at each side of said treadle, an electric motor within said casing, a drive shaft rotatable by said motor, an eccentric at each end of the said shaft with said eccentrics positioned apart relatively to the axis of said shaft, means securing the ends of said cloth to said eccentrics for reciprocation thereby, and means pivotally mounting said motor and drive shaft for movement as a unit relatively to said casing on an axis parallel to said drive shaft whereby said motor is moved 0n said pivotal mounting as by the pressure of a shoe applied against the bight of said cloth.

2. In a combination of the class described, a casing, a shoe support on the top of said casing, a polishing cloth, resilient means extending between said casing and cloth for yieldingly holding the cloth in an inverted bight over said shoe support with the ends of the cloth entering the cas- 5 ing through slots formed in said casing at each side of said shoe support, an electric motor, a drive shaft rotatable by said motor, means integrally movable with said motor for mounting said drive shaft for rotation, means pivoting said motor and shaft as a unit within said casing on an axis parallel to said shaft, an eccentric at each end of said shaft with said eccentrics positioned 180 apart relatively to the axis of said shaft, and means securing the ends of said polishing cloth to the said eccentrics whereby the ends of said cloth are rotated with the eccentrics and the cloth is reciprocated.

3. In a combination of the class described, a casing, a shoe support carried b said casing, a polishing cloth, resilient means extending between said casing and cloth for yieldingly holding the cloth in an inverted bight over said shoe support with the ends of the cloth extending downwardly at each side of said shoe support, an electric motor, a drive shaft rotatable by said motor, means integrally movable with said motor for mounting said drive shaft for rotation, means pivoting said motor and shaft as a unit to said casing below said shoe support for movement relatively to said casing on an axis parallel to said drive shaft, an eccentric at each end of said shaft REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 502,578 Osborne Aug. 1, 1893 1,051,387 Burkhart Jan. 23, 1913 1,264,279 Daly et al Apr. 30, 1918 1,430,786 Blunt Oct. 3, 1922 1,475,298 Gugliemello Nov. 27, 1923 1,758,663 Hendry May 13, 1930 1,896,010 Persons Jan. 31, 1933 1,948,423 Leucona Feb. 20, 1934 1,969,247 Wolcott Aug. 7, 1934 2,140,056 Piro Dec. 13, 1938 2,283,063 Heuver May 12, 1942 2,427,768 Edington Sept. 23, 1947 

